Abstract:

The primary objective of curriculum studies in China today is to revive its world leading status in the early 1920s and 1930s, and to have East West curriculum dialogues based on equality and reciprocity. To achieve this, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the curriculum studies at the global level. Employing a knowledge mapping software Citespace III, this paper tries to offer a systematic review of the collected SSCI essays on different curriculum themes from the database of WoS (Web of Science), conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis from several dimensions (state and institution, keywords, cited reference, theoretical framework and research method) and then reveal the evolution process, characteristics of curriculum research in the past decade as well as its future trends. The study shows that most authors of the published original articles on curriculum are from the USA, Australia and European countries (such as Britain, Sweden and Holland), though some authors from Asian and African countries are trying to catch up with their western counterparts. As to the research focus, international curriculum scholars attempt to reexamine the complex conflicts and implications concerning curriculum from economic, political, cultural, racial and gender perspectives at the macro level. At the micro level, they are interested in the lived experiences, identity and caring for the individual teachers and students in subject teaching and curriculum policy making process. These scholars have also begun to use varied qualitative research methodologies instead of traditional quantitative research dominated paradigm, such as case study, narrative inquiry, ethnographic study, discourse analysis and historical inquiry. They emphasize the building of collaborative relationship between the researcher and the research objects. What's more, they have created a number of original curriculum theories or discourses, contributing to developing curriculum studies into an independent academic discipline. Therefore, to promote the internationalization of curriculum research in China, curriculum scholars are encouraged to accomplish the following tasks. First, it’s essential to establish some critical writing communities at different geographical levels. They can not only turn to international peers for consultation and even invite them to participate in our research process, but also establish sustainable research partnership with foreign institutions through attending or co sponsoring international curriculum conferences (such as the Division B sessions in AERA, the IAACS and AAACS conferences). Second, it's necessary to develop more diversified perspectives or discourses to understand the curriculum in Chinese context, and pay more attention to the multiple identities (such as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status), lived experiences and positive strengths of Chinese teachers and students in educational arenas. Third, we should conduct more research studies by using different quantitative and qualitative methodologies, in addition to the traditional philosophical research methods which are currently the mainstream in our curriculum research field. Besides, we should enhance the consciousness of collaborating with research objects (especially the young children) and develop more effective strategies to make this collaboration happen. Finally and also most importantly, curriculum researchers should devote themselves to the localization and reconstruction of western curriculum theories and practical experiences, and on this basis create native and valuable theoretical systems of curriculum informed by our traditional wisdoms (such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism).

Key words: curriculum studies, knowledge mapping, research methodologies, theoretical frameworks